The present invention relates generally to the field of digital projectors. In particular, the invention relates to enhancing the image generated by digital projectors using a light disruption in the illumination portion.
Digital projectors have gained prominence in recent years. A typical projector arrangement 100 includes an illumination portion 110, a projection portion 120 and an image processing portion 130. The illumination portion 110 includes a light source, an integrating rod and one or more lenses directing the light to the image processing portion 130. The processed image is then directed from the image processing portion 130 through the projection portion 120 to, for example, a screen. The projection portion also includes one or more lenses to direct and/or focus the image onto the screen.
The image processing portion can typically contain an image processing device, such as a digital micromirror device (DMD). Such devices are often apertureless and require external modulation of the light intensity to enhance the image quality. In conventional rear-projection digital projectors, contrast of the projected image can be enhanced by modulating the light intensity by placing an adjustable aperture in the projection portion. However, this arrangement is not feasible for most forward-projection systems since most such systems use zoom projection lenses that make it difficult to place an adjustable aperture.
It is desirable to achieve systems and methods for enhancing the contrast of the image in forward-projection digital projectors.